THERE was a treat for classic comedy fans at Castlepoint on Saturday as Only Fools and Horses star John ‘Boycie’ Challis signed copies of his autobiography.

In town for ‘An evening with’ event at Dusbury Golf Club on Friday night, the actor – whose portrayal of social climbing, cigar smoking yuppie Terrance Aubrey Boyce is fondly-remembered by TV-lovers across generations – greeted fans at Waterstones the next day.

He has just produced the second volume of his autobiography, Boycie & Beyond, charting his career history and that of the show from 1985 up to the present, including Only Fools spin-off The Green Green Grass.

“I have always written stuff down, stories I have heard and characters I have met, so people said why not try writing your autobiography,” he said.

“I have written a couple of plays and one did quite well, but I needed a good editor to go through all this stuff and tie it together, and cut out the boring bits.

“Waterstones is a great place to do something like this, and it’s nice to speak to people buying the book as both series are remembered very fondly.

“When I was first approached to do Only Fools back in 1979 I thought my career would be made in the US, where I was doing a Tom Stoppard play.

“I had no idea there would be another series, or that it would go on for so long.”

First in the queue were fans Rachel Kerley, 40, from Charminster, and her 18-year-old son Matthew.

“I grew up with Only Fools and Horses and passed that on to Matthew, he is a big fan and he loves The Green Green Grass as well. It is one of those series which is timeless, it crosses generations,” she said.

“We met John before briefly at a convention in Portsmouth but it was nice to meet him again, he comes across as a lovely man and quite different from Boycie.”

Follow John on Twitter at @BeingBoycie.